1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an iris identification system and an iris identification method for identifying a person with the use of his or her irises.
2. Prior Art
Various iris identification systems and identification methods for use on devices, such as automatic teller machine, have been devised heretofore to identify a person. Some of them are found, for example, in Japanese Examined Patent Publication 5-084166 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,560. A system according to those inventions photographs the irises of a customer to get the image data, and compares it with the previously-registered data. In general, this type of iris identification system uses a high sensitivity camera for high-precision identification. The iris identification system first identifies the head of a customer, finds the position of the eyes, zooms up and photographs the irises, and then obtains the iris data. The system compares the data with the previously-registered iris data to identify the customer.
One problem with a conventional iris identification system is that, when the illumination of a room where an automatic teller machine is installed is reflected in the customer's irises and pupils, the system photographs the irises as well as the reflection and, therefore, cannot obtain the correct iris data. In this case, because the obtained customer's iris data differs from the previously-registered customer's iris data remarkably, the system does not identify the customer correctly.